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Reunions
Episode 7, Season 3 of War. Enjoy! :D Reunions The scent was stale, the blood dried. There were a few cobwebs scattered about, the remnants of a poultice. "They were headed that way," Redstep meowed, nodding to indicate direction. Thundercloud purred. "Let's go then." He led his squad into the dawn. They'd walked all day. It had been anything but boring, and by the end of it, Stormflight felt closer to the others then he had before. Oakclaw was practically the big brother he'd never had, which made him twice glad he hadn't let the tom get killed by Thundercloud. And Shadowsong was the snarky sister who talk about how much she hated them with a thick undercurrent of affection. Gorsefur still seemed to distance himself, but Briarclaw had told him about the tom's brother. Stormflight hadn't pushed anything, knowing what it felt like to lose someone. He walked between Briarclaw and Grayleaf. The little medicine cat was talking about how his father had tried to teach him to swim over and over. "You have to be the only cat in WaterClan who doesn't know how to swim," he snorted. "There's actually a whole camp of them on the EarthClan border," Briarclaw said, trying to keep a straight face. Gorsefur looked back, "We'll set up camp soon, if you three can bear to stop your thrilling conversation." Still giggling, the three nodded and Gorsefur turned, whiskers twitching in amusement. It was odd, Stormflight thought, how, even though the senior soldiers were only a few moons older at most, they seemed so much older. They entered a clearing and after a few moments of scenting around, everyone settled down. "Hey, we still have to hunt," Gorsefur said. Everyone groaned and got up. After a few moments of muttering, everyone paired up- Oakclaw and Shadowsong, Grayleaf, who shifted shyly closer to Briarclaw, leaving Gorsefur and Stormflight together. The commander nodded and the others left, each in a different direction. Gorsefur and Stormflight didn't have to go far before they stumbled upon a mouse colony. They were walking back to the make-shift camp, jaws laden with small bodies in no time. Briarclaw and Grayleaf hadn't had much luck, carrying only a wren. Shadowsong and Oakclaw each carried a squirrel. Not a feast, but it would do. They dug in and soon, everyone was very nearly passed out asleep. Stormflight yawned, looking at the others. Everyone looks younger when they sleep. Grayleaf could've passed for an apprentice and the others looked innocent. It was both unsettling and bittersweet. Settling down next to Grayfur, Stormflight let the dark close over him. The squad moved silently through the thick forest. Thundercloud had stayed behind, citing that his scent would tip off the WaterClan cats. "Why are we doing this?" Snowclaw grumbled. "Our mission is to kill off WaterClan spies crossing the border, not chase after soldiers." "This order came from Firestar himself," Redstep defended. "Hush!" Blazefur growled. They neared the camp. The fourth member of the group, Yellowpelt stepped forward. The she-cat had been carrying a leaf bundle during the trip and she set it down. "Careful," she hissed as the FireClan cats took sticky seeds from the leaf. They slipped around the clearing, carefully placing them in the mouths of the sleeping WaterClan cats. One twitched, but the others simply swallowed. "Er, we have a problem," Redstep murmured. "Great StarClan..." "There are three gray toms," she continued. Snowclaw muttered and stomped over. The burly white tom surveyed the squad. Two of the toms were curled up with a lean she-cat. The third was by the black she-cat and golden tom. "So? Which one has the blue eyes or whatever?" "They're asleep, idiot. And it's dark." Blazefur rolled his eyes. The muscled ginger tom got between the fiery Redstep and the angry Snowclaw. "Look, we can just take all of them. Thundercloud'll be thrilled." There was a dark silence. The four cats knew their commander was what most cats would define as 'sick', and if he hadn't been the one in charge of them, they would've labeled him that way as well. Snowclaw, Blazefur, and Yellowpelt each picked up a cat. The WaterClan warriors stayed asleep, the poppy seeds working. "Hurry," Redstep urged. The FireClan cats disappeared, leaving the clearing behind. When Shadowsong woke, she was way closer to Oakclaw then she'd been when she had fallen asleep. She started to scoot away, then remembered her last mission with the 'cruits and stayed still. Small steps. Oakclaw woke soon, blinking. "That was then best sleep I've ever had," Shadowsong nodded, thinking the same thing. Briarclaw was still snoring away, but something felt off. A little reluctantly, Shadowsong stood and blinked. The clearing was half empty, Gorsefur, Stormflight, and Grayleaf were gone. Huh. She was fully prepared to curl back up and sleep some more, when she thought about it. Stormflight wasn't exactly an early riser. And why would Grayleaf go hunting with the other two? He was a medicine cat. "Oakclaw!" she turned to see he'd fallen asleep again. "Wake up!" she hit him and he woke, gasping. Briarclaw was blinking now. "Wasgoinon." The squad's genius sounded a lot less smart waking up. "It's almost sun-high." Shadowsong meowed. "Why did we sleep so late?" Oakclaw shrugged. "I dunno. Sleepy?" Briarclaw shook her head. "Shadowsong's right. The other's should have waken us up." she looked thoughtful for a moment. "Do either of you taste something? Like, something weird." "Morning breath," Oakclaw meowed helpfully. "You'll get used to it." "No, she's right." Shadowsong blinked, quickly getting angry. "Were we drugged?" "Poppy seed," Briarclaw nodded. Shadowsong looked at her in surprise and the she-cat looked embarrassed. "I had an adventurous apprenticeship." "Why a sleeping aid though?" Shadowsong mused. "And where is everyone else?" Briarclaw blinked. "Oh no." Shadowsong had apparently come to the same conclusion. "Thundercloud?" Oakclaw could practically feel the long scar running over his back twinge at the mention of the tom. "Thundercloud." Gorsefur's eyelids weighed a ton. Opening them to a slit took more effort then he was willing to admit. He couldn't make out anything from the blurriness between his eyelids. He yawned, then opened them wider. Grayleaf and Stormflight lay to his right and two cats were looking at him. A small ginger she-cat and a burly white tom he vaguely recognized. "Oh goody. One's up," the she-cat meowed, not sounding especially excited. She looked at the white tom. "You can go wake Thundercloud, Snowclaw." Snowclaw rolled his eyes, but he too looked reluctant. Eventually he padded off and the she-cat approached Gorsefur. "Wrong eyes," she muttered. "You're the commander whatsit, aren't you?" Gorsefur shook his head, still feeling drowsy. "No, I'm...erm..." The she-cat looked sympathetic. "Nice try." She nodded to the other two WaterClan cats. "So which one is Stormflight?" Gorsefur looked. Grayleaf and Stormflight did look shockingly similar when asleep and it took him a moment. He didn't answer, but he was pretty sure the tom farthest from him was Stormflight. Pretty sure. Snowclaw reappeared with Thundercloud in tow. Gorsefur stood, fighting a wave of nausea as the FireClan commander padded confidently over. "This one's the commander," the ginger she-cat meowed. "Gorsefur, right?" Thundercloud looked at him, a charming face that Gorsefur knew could turn psychotic in a moment. "Nice to see your awake." You tried to choke me to death the last time we met, Gorsefur thought. "I wasn't intending to have you along, but the more the merrier," the tom's rumble sounded jovial, but he glared at the two FireClan warriors standing by him. They flinched. Grayleaf whimpered in his sleep, his back paw twitching. Stormflight seemed to be coming to. "So which one, Gorsefur?" Thundercloud asked, dangerously quiet. "You know who I want." "Why do you want him?" Gorsefur asked. "He doesn't know anything-" Thundercloud's paw hit him in the side of the face and sent him crashing to the ground. Snowclaw and the ginger she-cat looked at their paws and Gorsefur was uncomfortably reminded of FireClan prison. He hauled himself to his paws, glaring at Thundercloud and ignoring the drip of blood from his cheek. "Not telling won't help anyone," Thundercloud persuaded. Gorsefur remained silent and the FireClan commander sighed. At that moment, Stormflight opened his eyes, the same electric shade of blue that Thundercloud's were. Thundercloud noticed and purred. Gorsefur felt a sinking in his gut. "Well that makes our third tom the medicine cat. I'm sure Firestar would appreciate the two of you, but we don't need the extra." he looked at Snowclaw. "Kill him." The white tom started towards Grayleaf's sleeping form. "No!" Gorsefur yowled. He darted between Snowclaw and the medicine cat. Grayleaf was the son of two of his closest friends, a tom who was always laughing and a she-cat who embodied compassion. There was no way Thundercloud was getting him, Then he noticed the FireClan commander's smirk. Thundercloud knew just how to play Gorsefur, and now he knew how to manipulate him further. He felt a chill creep up his spine. "What..." Stormflight blinked, then locked eyes with Thundercloud. "Oh dirt." "Well that's rude," Thundercloud remarked. He was practically giddy with joy and Gorsefur was disgusted. "We're almost at the border." Thundercloud continued. "And then..." he let the threat hang and Stormflight looked to Gorsefur. Gorsefur shook his head. They were outnumbered. He prayed that Thundercloud hadn't killed the others. The odds of them getting rescued were slim. Grayleaf began to stir. His leaf green eyes opened and he yawned. "What-" "Everyone's up, let's go." Thundercloud commanded. Grayleaf looked at Gorsefur with now widened eyes and Gorsefur looked behind him. "Now." Thundercloud growled. He took a step towards Grayleaf. Gorsefur slumped. If they could hold out til night, maybe they could escape. And he'd have to find a weakness in Thundercloud. And keep Grayleaf and Stormflight safe. And try not to get killed. Now would be a good time to show up, he thought, wishing Oakclaw, Brookfall, Shadowsong, anyone could hear him. Adderscar and I follow Thundercloud's trail for a day before we finally start getting fresher scents. Squads move slow, but two fast cats running for their friends were much speedier. We find a break of the scents. "They split up here," Adderscar murmurs. "Thundercloud and a warrior went this way...and four of them went the other way." "Which way do Shadowsong and the 'cruits go?" Adderscar nods to the path the four warriors had taken and we pelt off. I pray to StarClan and every dead cat I know (which amounts to one- an elder named Loudmouth) that everyone was still alive. We burst into a clearing and found Shadowsong, Oakclaw, and Briarclaw bristling. "You're alive!" I can't help but crow, rushing over. "You're alive too!" Oakclaw echoes, equally surprised. He catches sight of Adderscar, "Did you smack him?" "Yup," I lie, whiskers twitching. Adderscar rolls his eyes, "Nice to see you too Oakclaw." Shadowsong shakes her head, "Look, as much as this makes me want to skip around like a little kit, we have to go." "Why?" I look around, heart hammering. "Where are the others?" Shadowsong looks pained. I recognize that look. I back up a pace, "Shadowsong, please-" "Stormflight, Gorsefur, and Grayleaf all got kidnapped." she meows, "Probably by Thundercloud." "And where were you?!" "Grayleaf? Stormflight?" Adderscar asks. "We were drugged, Brookfall, I'm so-" "Don't say sorry, don't you dare say sorry." I rage. "You know what he'll do! Shadowsong, he'll kill them! You know what this feels like." She glances at Oakclaw, a shadow of pain crossing her face. "I do, but Brookfall-" "We're going after them," I make a point to say them and not him. "Now." She nods. "That was the plan." "Who in the name of StarClan are Grayleaf and Stormflight?" Adderscar yells. Falling into old traditions, we all ignore him and dash from the clearing. Even though he was obviously ecstatic with joy, Thundercloud wasn't one to gloat, and Gorsefur gained no information that way. They'd been walking for half a day. Any hopes Gorsefur had at walking slower to make the group lag were diminished when Thundercloud decided he wanted to walk next to Grayleaf. The medicine cat looked at the ground and the only side of his nerves was that his tail shook a little. Stormflight walked by Gorsefur. The younger tom glared at Thundercloud. "He's your father, isn't he," Gorsefur whispered, trying to make sure none of the FireClan cats heard. Redstep, the ginger she-cat, twitched her ear, but she didn't give them away. Stormflight didn't look at him, but nodded slowly. "He and my mother were in love...but once she realized how sick he was..." "Quiet back there," Thundercloud growled. Grayleaf looked back, making eye contact with Gorsefur. Gorsefur gave him a quick nod of encouragement. He's 13 moons old. Why couldn't they have taken anyone else? The end of the Forest was in sight now and the FireClan cats became less tense. Stormflight looked frantically at Gorsefur. Do something. Gorsefur thought frantically. Maybe they could- "We have cats approaching," Snowclaw called from the back. Thundercloud turned. "Alright. Blazefur and Yellowpelt with me." A well-muscled ginger tom and a she-cat appeared. "There should be only three," Thundercloud meowed. "Meet us over the border when you're done. Redstep, Whiteclaw, and the third warrior nodded and turned, ready to face the would-be rescuers. Thundercloud, after a moment of thought, turned again. "Take Gorsefur here, make sure they understand what happens if they keep coming." Gorsefur looked at Stormflight, "Can you take three of them?" Stormflight shook his head, eyes wide. "You're not going to FireClan," Gorsefur promised, "I-" "Come on," Snowclaw pulled him away from Stormflight and Gorsefur looked helplessly as Thundercloud disappeared with his two warriors and two stolen warriors. "This better work," Shadowsong grumbled. "It was a plan collaborated on by Adderscar and Briarclaw!" Oakclaw muttered. "It has to work." "Oh Adderscar," Shadowsong mock-lamented. "How I've missed the little bugger." Briarclaw raced breathlessly beside them, her eyes bright with exhaustion. The smaller cat wasn't used to so much running, but she kept pace and didn't complain. "They're up...ahead," she cautioned, gasping for air. Shadowsong and Oakclaw slowed, a grateful Briarclaw following their lead. The end of the Forest was so close the sunlight streamed in and Shadowsong hoped to StarClan and back they weren't too late. The trees thinned out and the FireClan cats came into focus. The situation was too raw, too familiar to Shadowsong. Only instead of Oakclaw sandwiched between two FireClan captors, it was Gorsefur. She remembered when Oakclaw had been caught, thinking if it was anyone else she would've tried to fight back. How ridiculous, she thought. You're perfectly willing to go throwing yourself away, but when it comes to cats you care about, you're helpless as a fish on land. With that comforting thought, she stepped forward. "Let him go." Gorsefur made a face at her, trying to tell her something. She was too busy staring at the FireClan cats to try and read his mouth. If he was warning her about Stormflight and Grayleaf, hopefully Brookfall and Adderscar could handle it. "There are three of us," the big white tom meowed. "And we have your commander. Retreat, or..." "Here's what I think," Shadowsong growled. "One, you'd need at least three more warriors to make this a fair fight. Two, if you lay a claw on Gorsefur, that same claw will be the only piece that's big enough for your FireClan friends to find. And three," she looked him in the eye, "I don't think you like this. Hurting cats. I think you'd rather fight fairly, or as fairly as FireClan cats do fight. You think it's wrong and cruel and you think Thundercloud is sick." Gorsefur clamped his jaws shut on a yowl of pain as golden tom next to the ginger she-cat unsheathed his claws and let them prickle at the commander's neck. Shadowsong wanted to shriek with rage, but she kept going. "So, for the aforementioned reasons, I think you'll let our friend go. Unless you'd rather fight, because I am so up for that. Oakclaw," she didn't move her eyes from the white tom's. "How angry do I get when my friend gets clawed by someone who isn't me?" "Very," he responded. "I'm going to count to three. You can run back to the border or wherever, and I'll let you go. But if you hurt him, you'd best start counting your days. Because there won't be very many left." This had to work. Gorsefur looked close to passing out, rasping for breath. "One." Snowclaw's eyes flicked from her out to the forest. Maybe seeing if Thundercloud was lurking. "Two." Oakclaw stiffened beside her. She could at least take comfort in that, if this didn't work out, he'd be all right. Losing Gorsefur would break her heart in half, but losing Oakclaw would mean that it would simply cease to exist. "Three." Gorsefur's eyes widened and the golden tom looked to the white tom. A stream of Gorsefur's blood splattered on the forest floor, the only sound. "Let him go," the white tom meowed. The golden tom seemed unsure, but also a tad relieved. He unsheathed his claws and pushed Gorsefur toward his squad-mates. The FireClan cats vanished and the commander swayed. "Gorsefur!" Shadowsong pelted forward. She caught him as he fell and he leaned heavily on her shoulder. Oakclaw came and helped her lay him down. "Thundercloud...has...Grayleaf and...Stormflight." Grayleaf, Shadowsong felt a rush of rage. The medicine cat was easily the kindest cat she'd ever met, not to mention, the son of some friends. "Brookfall and Adderscar will get them." Gorsefur's eyes widened, "Not...Brookfall," he gasped. "Please..." He went limp and Shadowsong felt her heart quicken. "He's still alive," Briarclaw assured her. "Just in shock. I'll stay with him, if you want to..." Oakclaw and Shadowsong were dashing off before she finished. "Nice speech," Oakclaw told her. She looked at the ground. "It was everything I wanted to say when they had you." He pressed against her as they ran. Adderscar strode forward. The ginger tom was huge. Two smaller gray cats were at his side, a yellow she-cat and another big ginger tom thrown into the mix. Get rid of the two warriors and this might work, "Who are you?" the biggest tom, the commander called out. Adderscar took as many steps as he could before he answered. "Adderscar. WaterClan." Immediately, hackles were raised. Thundercloud, the commander, unsheathed his claws and threatened to cut the smaller gray tom's throat. Adderscar kept walking. "Stop!" Thundercloud called. Adderscar ignored him. "Stop, or he dies!" Adderscar finally stopped, of his own accord, a fox-length or so in front of the trio of FireClan cats and the two WaterClan warriors. The small gray tom with the wide, leaf-green eyes was watching him with fear and awe. The other tom was shaking his head, warning him to get away. There was a noise in the forest. The yellow she-cat went to investigate. A moment later, her shriek echoed through the forest. It didn't stop for moments on end. The russet tom looked at his commander who nodded at him. He pelted after the she-cat. Perfect. "First off, I don't actually know either of these cats, so don't get any ideas about thinking you have control over me." Thundercloud tipped his head, slowly drawing a line of blood from the squirming tom. Adderscar didn't flinch. "Impressive," the FireClan cat called. "Not so much. There's just no one I really care abut any more." Adderscar shrugged, then looked at the FireClan cat with piercing green eyes. "I've heard about you, you know." "Really." Thundercloud seemed disinterested. His ears were pricked, listening for the russet tom to come back. Or scream. "The Choicemaker, they call you. It's your MO, hostages. Parents for kits, brothers for sisters, mother for fathers. I'm going to guess that came from that beautiful sadism you were born with, and the fact someone broke your heart." Thundercloud didn't move, but the claw he held to the medicine cat's next quivered. A little. Adderscar smirked. Just a little. "Probably Stormflight's mom, right?" Thundercloud blinked. "Yeah, I don't know him, but my friends do. They told me all about you and your obsession with Stormflight over there. And you have the exact same eyes. So I'm going to guess you and his mother were real lovebirds. Romantics who thought borders didn't apply to them." Stormflight glared at Adderscar, but the tom was on a roll. "And she found out she was having a kit. Maybe you wanted her to come to FireClan with you. Maybe she finally found out what kind of a sick twisted freak you were. And she wouldn't see you anymore, wouldn't let you see your son. So you decided that love made you weak, and it does. It makes everyone weak. So you started using love to get to cats." "What's your point?" Thundercloud asked quietly. "My point, is that I have this friend. The same one who told me about you and how you and Stormflight have the same eyes. Anyways, she taught me this valuable lesson- if you keep an idiot talking long enough, a pretty she-cat will drop out of a tree and knock them out." "Wha-" Thundercloud never saw it coming, a brown blur dropping from the edge of the Silver Forest. Brookfall got to her paws, "Everyone okay?" Adderscar smirked. "Thanks for calling me pretty," I tease. Adderscar rolls his eyes. "It was dramatic." "Very," Shadowsong appears beside us. "Not what I'd expect from you." Adderscar sighs. "Whatever. Thanks for taking care of the two warriors." Shadowsong flashes an evil grin. "Oh, it was fun." Oakclaw presses a paw to his scratched cheek, "Fun for you maybe." She kicks him and he purred, dodging. Grayleaf is still trembling a little, but he's obviously trying to keep it together. I remember thinking about something spoiling his innocence. This is it, I think sadly. The gaunt shadow of war has already started to come over Grayleaf's eyes. I refuse to think he'll let it change him Stormflight sits as far away from Thundercloud's unconscious form as he can get. His only input in the conversation was that we should kill the cat, an opinion everyone agreed with. Adderscar wouldn't let us though. Briarclaw and Gorsefur appear from the forest. Gorsefur looks ragged and exhausted, but in that moment, the only thing I see is him. I rush forward and he brightens when he sees me. "Are you okay?" I ask breathlessly. "Yeah. If another FireClan cat tries to choke me though, I'll lose it." I laugh. Gorsefur notices Thundercloud. "What are we doing with him?" "You're the commander," Shadowsong meows. Her tone is light, but her eyes say, Kill him. Kill him now! Gorsefur looks at the others and Adderscar steps forward. "We can't kill him. I mean, I'd love to as much as anyone else, maybe more. But we can't." "First of all, he's never done anything to you. You didn't know him before today." Oakclaw meows. "Secondly, why not?!" "I'll answer that in one sentence." Adderscar looked at Stormflight, then Gorsefur. "He's Firestar's brother." Category:Artimas Hunter's Fanfics